Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Biennial or annual
General Desc:
A weed which grows from a large taproot with yellow flower heads of ray flowers and leafy stems filled with a milky juice. The principal stem branches are where flowering occurs, sometimes flower heads are on a few short branches from the base. Identification notes: Annual herb; leafy-stemmed with milky sap. leaves oblong or elliptic, bearing small spines, dissected to not lobed; flower head open with spreading branches; flowers head of yellow ray flowers. Height:
To 6 feet Habitat

Fruit Color: Gray or yellowish, brownish Fruit Type: AcheneFruit Notes: Each flower head has 6 to 30 flattened fruits with 5 to 7 parallel ridges on each side. The single-seeded fruit has a tuft of soft white bristles (pappus) that are about 1/10 inch long on a slender beak that is nearly as long as the fruit.